The fight to shutter illegal pot shops in Toronto continues, even as the first legal retail storefronts have opened their doors across the province.
The city is again ramping up its efforts to close the scattered operations, this time with the Municipal Licensing and Standards leading the charge.
While Toronto police will be involved, Don Peat, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said police will be focused on ensuring safety of bylaw officers during inspections.
Nine municipal licensing officers have been solely dedicated to enforcement of cannabis laws. Shops that refuse to close can be raided without search warrants and owners can face up to two years in jail and fines as high as $1 million for a corporation. Currency and product found on site can also be seized.
Currently, an estimated 28 stores are operating illegally in Toronto. In late 2017, more than 90 stores were open.
On Tuesday afternoon, police and bylaw officers descended on the Green Apple, an illegal marijuana dispensary near Finch Avenue and Weston Road, and executed a raid.
Mark Sraga, the director of investigation services for municipal licensing and standards, said a “significant amount of illegal cannabis” was found on the premises, along with edibles and other forms of marijuana. He said the property has been seized and the operators charged.
“We’re exercising our authority and seizing the product,” he told CTV News Toronto.
“We are charging the operators that we found within, as well as we will be charging the property owner for allowing this operation. Then ultimately we will be issuing a closure order and securing the premises.”
Despite their best efforts, city officials said the shops often find a way to reopen.
Peat called the work involved to close the storefronts “a challenge.”
“The largest source of frustration is the blatant disregard of laws,” he said via email. “While we may change locks, businesses break them and continue to operate.”
In the past few days, bylaw officers shut down illegal pot shop Dallas Buyers Club on Eglinton Avenue West on two separate occasions. The operators allegedly cut the locks installed by bylaw officers and reopened the store this week before the city shut it down again.
An official notice of immediate closure was visible on the front door on Tuesday. According to the city, the store has also operated under the name King Kong Bong.
“It’s a very, very significant challenge for them because as fast as they close them down, they open up again,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said.
“I’m glad to see that our officials are enforcing the law, they should continue to do it, and I hope that the courts, when these people get to court, bring down the hammer on these people. They are deliberately – with lots of knowledge of what the law is and when the dates were that the new laws took effect – flouting the law, thumbing their nose at the law.”
As of April 1, when Ontario officially legalized selected retail cannabis shops, 19 charges have been laid against illegal storefronts. Operators that are fined automatically become ineligible to apply for a legal cannabis retail license.
“We’re engaged with the province – it’s a new world for everyone, so we’re working closely together to identify and discuss challenges,” Peat said.
The Hunny Pot Cannabis Co. on Queen Street West and Ameri in Yorkville are the only two legal marijuana stores currently open in Toronto. Ganjika House also opened in Brampton and Relm Cannabis Co. opened in Burlington.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) received more than 17,000 expressions of interest from pot shops looking to be licenced. That number was dwindled down to 25 companies in January.
Prior to April 1, recreational cannabis could only be purchased legally through a government-run website.
